Free Speech

Statement

A few months ago, "State Talk" discussed the caucus meeting resulting in the arrest of a central committeeman.

St. Charles garnered national attention for the way citizens were treated when 30 police officers were called in to force people to leave. Although the public was invited to this meeting and anyone could claim to be a Republican, shortly after the meeting adjourned, the police arrested one of the central committee members, Brent Stafford, for trespassing.

Justice doesn't always prevail, but this time it did. The highlight happened when the defense attorney, David Roland, asked the police officer if it was against the law for people to stand on chairs, to which the officer said, "No". Then he asked if it was illegal for a person to speak to a group of people, to which the officer answered, "No". Then the lawyer asked the arresting police officer if he told Brent to leave or be arrested and the officer said, "No".

It's hard to imagine being arrested for standing on a chair talking to a group of people on property that is owned by the taxpayers and then being arrested without first being given any options. One more poignant moment happened when the police officer claimed that the crowd was aggressive although there were no acts of violence shows that raw power can be used regardless of facts. Thankfully, we still live in a country where people are punished based on their actions, not on what they "might" do.

By the time the prosecution was finished, the judge had heard enough and dismissed the case before allowing the defense to begin. I am glad of this because it was 10:00 at night and most people were very tired. I am also glad the judge had the wisdom to know where to draw the line on making criminals out of people who are exercising their constitutional right of free speech.

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